Category: Anything Cute
On the topic of stress management as I commute to St Luke’s International Hospital. My aunt died at the hospice here but nothing depressing about this place. There are babies being delivered in their obstetrics ward while at oncology department, beds are readied for chemotherapy and radiation. There’s great joy and there’s sadness. One cannot exist without the other … we know this but…
We make our way to their chapel with beautiful stained glass windows. So much is beyond one’s control and when that is recognized, what do you do? Be broken and fall apart in despair or … pick yourself up and charge on.
Sometimes we can only:
- Pray
- Find a meditation practice
- Some call it Mindfulness practice
- To me, above are all YOGA made accessible to all people – works.
- Find a puppy to care
- In my case a mame= bean mini size Shiba inu puppy. Sweet.
- reminded – Shiba sounds like Shiva, our higher consciousness … with Shakti, the energy, a transformative power is unleashed where there’s bliss and wisdom. It’s still possible. We can all access it. That energy.
There’s many ways people cope with stress. Yoga works to keep you healthy and happy (okay, admittedly I am not very happy at the moment – it’s rather rough – BUT – it does you keep you in better spirit – or at the very least … balanced) in spite of it all. Namaste:)
Categories
Meow
If you speak more than one language you know that “meow” in English is not the cat meow in another language/country. It’s “Nyaa-Nyaa” or “Myaa-Myaa” in Japanese in case you want to be bilingual in cat talk:) In fact, Japanese language has refreshing variety of Onomatopoeia to capture the sounds of heart thumping to rivers flowing to birds chirping… My personal favorite is “waku-waku!” for hearts pounding with excitement and anticipation ! Another fav might be “uki-uki” – a feeling of anticipation, looking forward to something – that feel of spring:) We want that daily in our lives, don’t we?
Cat lovers’ store is open only on weekends… then this store named simply “S” is only open on Saturdays. Tucked away in one of these narrow alleyways. It’s a quaint retro throw back to Showa era kind of town.
Nostalgic air fills the narrow streets where new space is emerging – charming “shitamachi”* here off the grid from the “Monjya” main street.
What’s “Monjya”? It’s a signature dish in this parts of town consisting of a grill for table, and pancake like batter to be grilled with all kinds of savory morsels of meats, shellfish, veggies, mochi noodles and even … cheese and the latest new ingredient option … tortilla. It’s a total mix-up, thus, “monja”! Japanese are a master at incorporating foreign ingredients and making it their own … whether be curry, mayonnaise or demiglaze sauce
It’s Moon Island of a place … we recognize so much can co-exist and still be traditional and harmonious.
* “shitamachi” – what is “shitamachi”? Usually points to an older part of town that’s more a commoner’s merchant district vs. the more upscale and fashionable or polished uptown areas such as Aoyama, Hiroo, Daikanyama, etc. Contrast to the more elite areas, there’s a more vintage feel to this area as the area tends to be untouched or left behind in the rapid architectural commercial development taking place in rest of the city. For that reason, it’s charm is undeniable.